Hug the eastern edge of the mountainside and muscle your way through the 500-foot climb to the summit. You couldn’t directly purchase airfare because of an oversaturated buyer’s market, so rather than receive an e-mail receipt to confirm your booking, you are entered into a ‘lottery’ in which you may or may not be able to travel to your planned destination…(As an NBA fan, I’ve always struggled with the idea of a truly randomized lottery). A wilderness permit is required year-round for backpacking or any other overnight stay in the Yosemite Wilderness. The cabin is closed at other times of the year. The remaining 40 percent are available on a first-come, first-served basis no earlier than 11 am the day before your hike begins as long as permits are available. From approximately May through October, unreserved permits are available on a first-come, first-served basis beginning at 11 am on the day before the intended hiking date. Wilderness permit reservations are processed by lottery 24 weeks (168 days) in advance of the hiking start date from mid-November through October. Like virtual reality, but without the virtual part. You can add another person to your wilderness permit reservation for an additional fee as long as space is still available for that trailhead. Please explore responsibly! The trailheads report shows which trailheads are full for certain dates (as of the last-updated date shown at the top of the page). Yeah, neither do we, but it keeps the lights on. At about 2.5 miles, you'll reach an intersection with the Sunrise Lakes Trail that heads off to the east. To the extent you can carve the time, I’d recommend researching the lottery period for your desired route/location, and having each person in your party independently enter to maximize your chances of obtaining a permit. For Clouds Rest, you need a permit for Sunrise Lakes, and we highly recommend reserving this one, as it’s a … The trailhead quota system limits use based on where you begin your hike, and in some cases, on where you camp the first night of your trip. Imagine virgin Sierra Nevada granite, uplifted from its deep burial place by compressional tectonic forces, canyons eroded rapidly by generous spring runoff, and finally, the odd glacier to smooth the slope. And if you have a list of potential travel destinations like me, can you please consider adding an overnight backpacking permit for Clouds Rest??? So until I workshop a better solution to pitch the National Park Service, I’m with it! The adrenaline rush you get as you climb the narrow rocky ridge that leads to the Clouds Rest summit is one of the many reasons hiking enthusiasts choose this trail. A one-night stop in the Tuolumne Meadows Backpackers Campground as part of an ongoing and continuous long-distance hiking permit. Additionally, due to increased popularity of the Snow Creek Cabin, a quota (six people per night) is in effect. Half Dome, Havasu Falls, Mt. Facing east (depicted in the cover shot), you can see Tenaya Lake, Tuolumne Meadows, the Sierra Nevadas and, if you strain your eyes, parts of northern Wisconsin. In late summer it’s easy to skip across the meager trickle of water, but during wet peri… 360-degree views stretch for hundreds of miles. This allows you to break up the hike, spend a night relaxing and help you have an early start back on the trail. An elevation loss of about 2600 vertical feet leads us to our forested … If the date or trailhead isn't listed, space is available for at least one person (but not necessarily for your entire group). After that, it’s left, right, left (*foot after foot, not directional turning) – all the way to the top, which, at 9,996 feet, is the highest point in Yosemite. All the glacier-carved wonder of Little Yosemite Valley and the surrounding peaks unfolds at the top of Clouds Rest (9,926 ft.). A wilderness permit is required year-round for backpacking or any other overnight stay in the Yosemite Wilderness. If your starting trailhead is outside Yosemite National Park, get your permit from the land agency that manages that trailhead. Take in some of the best view points in Yosemite National Park on a guided backpacking tour to the summits of Half Dome and Clouds Rest with Discovery Treks.Climb the Half Dome cables and enjoy the fresh air at 9,930 at the summit of Clouds Rest. For this reason alone, Clouds Rest should join your permit application lineup. Andrew Johnson We want to acknowledge and thank the past, present, and future generations of all Native Nations and Indigenous Peoples whose ancestral lands we travel, explore, and play on. Enjoy lunch at the top while soaking in panoramic views of Yosemite’s wilderness. Total 360. Distance: 14.5 miles (23.3 km) round trip Trailhead Elevation: 8,150 feet (2,450 meters) Elevation Gain: 1,775 feet (540 meters) Wilderness permits are only issued to a limited number people for each trailhead in order to provide outstanding opportunities for solitude, as required by the Wilderness Act. It’s a little less travelled, provides nice middleground views of the falls and the backside of Half Dome, and is fairly shaded in the morning (for those traveling during warmer months; I last went in late May, and it was almost 90 degrees on the valley floor and about 40 degrees at the summit). Trailhead quotas are in effect during winter. Wilderness permit reservations are available (and strongly recommended) up to 24 weeks (168 days) in advance, and up until nine before your hike. If you are starting at a trailhead in Yosemite and wish to camp outside of Yosemite during your Wilderness trip, you will only need to get a single wilderness permit from Yosemite. The Clouds Rest Trail winds its way through wildflower-covered meadows, forests and rocks before it starts the steep switchbacking (at times stair step) climb. Of each daily quota for a trailhead, 60 percent can be reserved ahead of time. This limit on the number of people staying at the cabin provides for visitor safety and preserves natural, cultural, and wilderness values. Setup camp at the Clouds Rest - Half Dome trail junction. Geography. That's why we send you the best local adventures, stories, and expert advice, right to your inbox. We scouted some turf, pitched our tents, and dropped our packs at the end of the tree line, just before the naked shoulder begins to emerge and crest into its exposed peak, hiking the final ~1.5 mile stretch with a couple of day packs and summit essentials. Hiking Half Dome is an unforgettable experience, but I’d choose Clouds Rest any day of the week, if only for the solitude. Travel by vehicle or bus at any time during a wilderness itinerary invalidates the wilderness permit. Check out our Yosemite - Two Summits guided backpacking adventure for details! Only one permit is required. The summit can be reached by a 7.2-mile (11.6 km) trail hike from Tioga Pass Road or a 13-mile (21 km) trail hike from Happy Isles by way of Little Yosemite Valley.There are also several technical routes available. Don’t be scurred, though, people be people J. Though popular trailheads may fill up, there is always space available on other trailheads in the park. Permits are available one day in advance of your trip. Total 360. The cabin is generally open during the same time as the Badger Pass Ski Area, which is typically mid-December through March (as long as there is enough snow for skiing). Common examples: Continuous travel is a condition of a wilderness itinerary in which the user travels from a Yosemite National Park entry trailhead to the exit trailhead during the dates specified in the permit. We have more answers to frequently asked questions. If space is no longer available for that trailhead, you can try to change your reservation to another date or another trailhead (as long as space is available). Now…if we could just brainstorm a better way to provide egalitarian access to the summit…. Day 4: After a hearty breakfast hike approximately 3.5 miles to the summit of Clouds Rest at 9,926′. A wilderness permit is not required for day hikes (unless hiking to Half Dome) or for staying in lodging facilities and frontcountry campgrounds. The last ridge to Clouds Rest gets a bad rap for being scary. Once past the falls, which makes for a natural rest stop, you’ll continue on (the trails briefly merge after Vernal Falls, so as long as you’re generally heading north/northeast, you’re in good shape), and just past the backpacker’s camp, you’ll come to a figurative fork in the road. Permits go … West-facing views offer gorgeously unobstructed lines of sight to Half Dome and throughout the valley floor. Additionally, hiking Half Dome now requires a permit 7 days per week. This is certainly closer water than the year-round creak flowing at a lower elevation. Any travel through Yosemite Valley invalidates the permit. So, practically, it's not possible to get permits for popular trailheads except at the priority permit station. https://www.alltrails.com/trail/us/california/clouds-rest-trail Some especially popular areas have additional application procedures: Once you know where you want to begin your hike from, use the trailheads map [1.5 MB PDF] to determine the name of your trailhead. Permits: Required for all overnight backpacking trips. The hike fittingly known as Clouds Rest sits more than 1,000 feet above the iconic Half Dome and provides arguably the best view in all of Yosemite National Park. Wilderness permits are required in winter—but reservations aren't needed from November through April. As a result, these are great hike alternatives if you are unable to obtain permits to hike to the top of Half Dome. Early on in the hike, there are some watery obstacles. Tried summiting Half Dome but the closed down the cables right as we got to them because of a lightning storm rolling in. A bonus to hiking in via the Sunrise Lake trail is you can hike the Clouds Rest trail (which requires no permit), and gives you incredible views of Half Dome. Wilderness permit holders may spend one night prior to, and one night after, a backpacking trip in a backpackers' campground (summer only). Although the Half Dome hike typically gets all the attention, hiking Clouds Rest actually takes you to a higher summit that offers a panoramic vista which includes an unbeatable view of Half Dome itself. Literally, no good reason as to why it took me so long to hike to Clouds Rest. © 2020 The Outbound Collective - Terms of Use - Privacy Policy. Despite an elevation change of 2,700 feet, the biggest challenge on the hike was the extra weight in water we had to carry. If you plan to backpack and camp in the wilderness area around Clouds Rest, an overnight permit is required though. Left >>> Half Dome. Permits and reservations: No permits are required for hiking up to Clouds Rest or to the top of the Lembert Dome. If you missed out on snagging a Half Dome permit and are looking for a great alternative hike, then the Clouds Rest trail is a great choice. However, if you are planning to stay overnight in a Yosemite campsite, apply for a permit months prior to your trip. Yep, us too. Additionally, the ascent up Clouds Rest is very challenging and is weather permitting. Right >>> Clouds Rest/Tenaya Lake/Tuolumne Meadows. Once all permits are secured, it’s a good idea to reserve bus tickets from Yosemite Valley to Tuolumne Meadows. The trailhead information page has additional information, including quotas for each trailhead, parking information, and other details. The Yosemite Wilderness has over 750 miles of trail to explore with a great range of elevation, ecological zones, and solitude. An advantage of choosing the Clouds Rest hike is that it is not an overnight trip, so you do not need to obtain a permit, which can be a long process. Use some of the resources you've found on this site, look at maps, and get planning! Since many trails are very popular, reservations are recommended ($5 per confirmed reservation plus $5 per person). The Outbound works best with JavaScript enabled. It’s considered one of the epic Yosemite hikes and is definitely worth the effort. Note: I used to think all campers were irie until I saw a few people go all Black Friday on some of these lineups. From November through April, wilderness permits are available without a reservation. Following a brief descent, you'll get a couple miles of mostly flat hiking before starting up the slopes of Clouds Rest itself. Clouds Rest is an arête, a thin, almost knife-like, ridge of rock formed when glaciers eroded away solid rock to form Tenaya Canyon and Little Yosemite Valley. You can take a day hike to Clouds Rest without a permit, or obtain a first-come, first-served backpacking permit at the Yosemite Valley Visitor Center. So, in planning a trip, it is important to find the right experience for your interests, timeframe, and abilities. Submit your application as early as possible: popular trailheads fill up on the first day reservations are available and many other trailheads fill up almost as quickly. But as you'll be in the backcountry, you can't use a day hike permit. Always practice Leave No Trace ethics on your adventures and follow local regulations. Difficulty of the hike will also vary based on the route change. With no water source near the summit of Cloud’s Rest, we needed to bring enough water for our hike in, that evening’s dinner, the next morning’s breakfast, and the next afternoon’s hike out. These trailheads include Lyell Canyon, Cathedral Lakes, Rafferty Creek, those leading to Little Yosemite Valley, and others. Once in Yosemite Park, you can jump the shuttle (it runs from 7 AM to 10 PM), which will drop you off at the trailhead (Stop 16) for the Happy Isles/Mist Trail, which goes to Vernal Falls, Half Dome, Clouds Rest, and beyond. Summit both Half Dome and Clouds Rest on this guided backpacking trip! The trek down from Clouds Rest is a steep winding descent to Sunrise Creek; along the way stunning views of Half Dome with El Capitan in the distance are framed by massive ancient junipers. Day 1: Hike up from Tenaya Lake TH to Clouds Rest (6 miles) enjoy the views, turn around and go back to the trail junction (3.5 miles) and then on to beautiful Middle Sunrise Lake (1 mile) where you set up camp for the night. Great backpacking trip done in June. This means that the priority permit station will not allow other permit stations to issue a permit for its trailheads until its morning line is cleared. Once you make the pivot, you might be about halfway through your one-way to the top (if you begin from the valley floor, as opposed to camping at the backpackers camp near Vernal Falls or coming in from the east side). Get an ad-free experience, support The Outbound, and snag a bunch of other perks by subscribing for only $29.99/year. And CA has so many diverse and harmonious views – both known, and those yet to be discovered…with its urban centers, topographical variety, vast ranges and whatnot (Fun fact: California shares its climate with a few global regions: Western Australia, Costal Chile, and parts of the Mediterranean Rim). This is not a hike for folks looking for a leisurely stroll! Like, what if all vacationing and travel was like that? Make sure to take in the view as you gain elevation on your way up to Sunrise Lakes. The trails passes through meadows and forests, but expect to tackle very rocky, ankle-snapping sections of trail. This final ascent climbs steadily to a challenging elevation, but isn't as steep as the climb you conquered to reach the Sunrise Lakes fork. The hike up to Clouds Rest is a difficult yet rewarding one. Behold: an endless mid-angle slab climb of truly epic proportions! That said, in order to plan for a few of the more-oft visited destinations throughout the southwestern United States, it’s necessary to pipeline the permit application windows for those travel spots that do require a permit (i.e. For this reason alone, Clouds Rest should join your permit application lineup. We departed from Glacier Point. Clouds Rest is a great hike if you are unable to secure a permit for Half Dome or if you are looking for a longer trail with more elevation gain. Adventure Details. Views from Clouds Rest are as worthy as they come in the State of California. In terms of our national parks, though, it’s all we got at the moment, and though I’m probably sipping the haterade here, I don’t really have a better solution to striking a balance between overpopulation and environmental conservationism. The trail is primarily used for hiking, camping, and backpacking and is best used from March until October. Fabulous, fabulous, fabulous. It’s really a beautiful hike. The Half Dome Permit system, however necessary, is just an extra bureaucratic hoop that I’d rather not jump through. You’ll start on Tioga Road at the west end of Tenaya Lake (Sunrise trailhead), and begin the hike with a view of the lake on the left. A wilderness permit is not required for day hikes (unless hiking to Half Dome) or for staying in lodging facilities and frontcountry campgrounds. North and south-facing views provide viewsheds into the northern and southern expanses of the park (particularly views to the south). Since there are only a few designated campgrounds, you can camp anywhere you like, provided you follow all the regulations. Rest assured, though, that things get considerably easier after this point. And unlike Half Dome, for the Clouds Rest hike, no permit is needed, the distance and climbing is manageable, and you don’t have to navigate anything like the anxiety-inducing cables section. Start out at the Tenaya Lake Trailhead, where you can head directly onto the trail for Clouds Rest or you can branch off after 2.7 miles to Sunrise Lakes. *Route Variation - Our specific hiking route and campsites on each departure are dependent upon permit availability. Sixty percent of reservations are available 24 weeks in advance; the remaining 40 percent are available two … Day 2: Hike to lower Cathedral Lake (7 miles) and camp there. West-facing views offer gorgeously unobstructed lines of sight to Half Dome and throughout the valley floor. As soon as the crowd starts to thin (depending on what time you start), the first push is an even, quality burn, and I’d recommend taking the John Muir Trial the first few miles up to Vernal Falls. From the summit, hike down 5 miles to Sunrise Creek for the final night of camping. This service is especially helpful for those who have gotten a first-come, first-served permit the day before beginning their hike. Hopefully, the photographs alone are a sufficient sales pitch (not that you really need one). All reservations (same day and next day) and same-day unreserved permits may still be picked up when the wilderness center opens for the day. Exiting the wilderness at any time during a wilderness itinerary invalidates the wilderness permit. Even if you plan to spend every night of a Wilderness trip inside Yosemite but your entry trailhead is outside Yosemite, you do not get the permit from Yosemite. In order to continue backpacking, you would need a new wilderness permit. Join us on an epic hike to summit two of the most iconic peaks in Yosemite National Park, Half Dome and Clouds Rest. If there is, I’m really not sure what it is. The exceptions are near the five High Sierra Camps and in the Little Yosemite Valley area, where you must you camp at the designated campgrounds. Reservations are not available. From Clouds Rest's airy and cozy summit, the most undeniable natural feature is the Northwest Face, a stunning 5000-foot drop into Tenaya Canyon. There is a lottery system for day hikers, but it’s also possible to secure a permit when reserving the backpacking permit. This is Yosemite glacial geology at its finest. Obtain your Half Dome permit as part of your wilderness permit. You must go to the Valley Visitor Center to pick up a wilderness permit (if available) and current combination for the cabin's lock. As the park’s zenith, it offers wildly sweeping panoramic vistas of the park. Therefore, as part of the wilderness experience, park rangers can provide general guidance but will not plan a wilderness trip for you; you must plan your own trip. A Half Dome day hike permit is entirely different, and you can have each person submit an application. As a self-proclaimed view hunter that’s been diligently exploring California and the Western U.S. with handfuls of cameras over the last few years, the views from the summit of Clouds Rest in the middle of the Yosemite Valley are nearly peerless in the Golden State. Reservations are available fewer than 168 days in advance (but not fewer than two days in advance), although popular trailheads fill up the first day reservations are available. After the first night, you may camp wherever you can hike to within the wilderness. Had to fight with the Half Dome day hikers some of the way. Today’s Mileage: 7.3 mi / +800′, -2,800′ Wilderness permits are available during business hours at any permit issuing station beginning at 11 am the day before the beginning of your wilderness trip. Thank you!! If you are starting a hike from a trailhead located outside of Yosemite National Park, obtain your permit from the trailhead's managing agency, even if camping in Yosemite. Views from Clouds Rest are as worthy as they come in the State of California. Sunrise Lakes –> Clouds Rest –> Little Yosemite Valley –> Happy Isles; After faxing in my reservation request (if you’re not familiar with the permit requirements, visit here, we were lucky to get permits starting at May Lake, but without Half-Dome permits. + Save to a List. You can also speak to a wilderness ranger by calling 209/372-0826 (Monday through Friday, 9 am to noon and 1 to 4:30 pm, from March through early October). This process is subject to change based on COVID-19 situation in 2021. By: It’s really a beautiful hike. There is no such exception for Yosemite Valley. Clouds Rest is a massive granite peak just northeast of Half Dome.The peak can be seen from Yosemite Valley, and at 9,930 ft. is about 1,080 ft. higher than the more famous Half Dome.The peak offers excellent views of Half Dome and the surrounding area. These are two of the most spectacular and famous peaks in Yosemite National Park. The back end of Cloud's Rest appears to the west. Permit check by a floating park ranger should be in and around this area. That would make holiday travel pretty tough. Nobody else continued on to Clouds Rest. Clouds Rest Trail via Tenaya Lake is a 13 mile heavily trafficked out and back trail located near Yosemite Valley, California that features beautiful wild flowers and is rated as difficult. When I was first getting into camping, it took a few hard fails before I fully digested the importance of the permit application process and subsequent lottery. This backpacking trip, be it your first or fortieth, is a uniquely protected opportunity to provide maximum freedom to roam in Wilderness. Whitney, various parts of the Grand Canyon and Zion Narrows, etc.). (The wilderness permit office will know whether water is flowing, so you can ask when you pick up your permit.) A good planning process will enhance your understanding of the park and your safety. Crossing a road by means of traditional wilderness travel (by foot or with stock) in continuation of a wilderness itinerary. Alternatively, depending on the park, you can outrun everyone to the starting line, and can often secure unused day and/or overnight permits on-site (where available), if you’re willing to line up outside the ranger station/visitor center at dawn. You must pick up a wilderness permit at the permit station closest to your starting point (when these permit stations are closed for the season, permits are available on a self-registration basis). Priority for permits for a particular trailhead is given to the closest permit issuing station. Now if we could just brainstorm a better way to provide egalitarian access to the summit…. ... both of the trails you referenced make it quite difficult to get to clouds rest in a 4 day hike. Half Dome Permits. There are two exceptions: Can't find your question here? 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